Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Great Outdoors Book Tour

Blurb: Tallulah Murphy is a busy woman. As the newly appointed Director of Education for the Atlanta Art Museum, she has a thousand and one things to do on any given day. Dating is not high on that list; in fact, it’s not even on the radar. Three hundred miles away in Charleston, South Carolina, Lieutenant Mitchell Weaver is gearing up for his promotion to be the youngest police chief in the city’s history. And unfortunately, as a prominent city official with all eyes watching his every move, a quality date seems untenable. But when good friends and good fortune set Tallulah and Mitch on a fateful adventure with Madame Evangeline’s high-end dating service, 1 Night Stand, they may just find that a little matchmaking magic can reset their spirits of adventure, and open their hearts and minds to the possibility of love.

An excerpt from The Great Outdoors: Lou stared at the screen, a little stunned.

After a silent moment, Allison elbowed her in the ribs. “So, a cop, huh? That sounds pretty sexy. Maybe he’ll bring his gun with him.”

Lou laughed and read the message from the top again. “I love surprises but this makes me a little uneasy. What if he’s really aggressive? I’ve only dated artists and guys like Donald. And check out that description—likes to play board games. Good grief, what if he’s a total goober?” She groaned.

“Then you’re also a goober because you’re charitable and you like board games. I sort of like her approach. She’s matching y’all up because you fit, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. She’s not focusing on any kind of physical beauty. Come on—you had that, and Donald was a dick.”

“You’re right. I know. It just worries me when a date’s described as he’s a nice guy.” She sighed and closed her eyes for a second. “Okay, this’ll be fun. There’s no pressure to do anything except enjoy our adventure. If he’s a cop, he’s bound to be in good enough shape to hike, right?”

“Atta girl. It’s nice that your adventure’s over the weekend, so you don’t have to take any time off.”

“Especially since Madame’s only giving us a week. Geesh.”

“Actually, that’s not such a bad idea for you. Maybe she felt you’d chicken out or find some silly excuse for changing plans if you had lots of lead-time. You don’t have enough time to be nervous. Speaking of which, do you have everything you’ll need?”

“Yep. I bought a new pair of boots last fall, and I’m mostly set for clothes.”

Allison nodded. “I can’t wait until you get the picture. Will you forward it to me before you leave?”

“I’ll probably have to send it from my phone, but I’ll forward it as soon as she sends it.”

“I’m dying of curiosity, but I also want a picture in case he’s a psycho. You know, in case I have to share something with the FBI. I’m just saying.” She reached into her lunchbox and pulled out two chocolate pudding cups, and handed one over to share.

She blinked for a moment, then shook her head and opened the pudding. He’s not a psycho killer…no way would this 1Night Stand place stay in business if they killed their customers. Right? Taking a bite, she thought how good an adventure would be. And who cared if she found Mr. Right. Mr. Right Now sounded pretty good, too.

An interview with Becky Moore1. Tell us about yourself. I’m an idealistic, optimistic Southerner. Sounds sort of crazy, huh? But as a southerner, I’m a natural-born storyteller … we tend to be a little dramatic.

2. How did you get your start as a writer?My Bachelor’s degree is in writing and editing, and my first job out of school was in advertising. My outsized imagination has always served me well professionally, and I’ve been really fortunate to work in some capacity as a writer. I developed a pretty healthy business acumen from working at an international telecommunications company as part of their marketing team, but cultivated my love of the arts as the marketing director for North Carolina’s largest non-profit performing arts theatre. I like to be busy, so during my years in theatre, I volunteered as a senior docent with the North Carolina Museum of Art (my specialties were Egyptian, Greek and Roman art; and modern art) and started working as a freelance journalist and photographer for a handful of magazines and newspapers across the state. Journalism fed my natural curiosity and let me ask a gabillion questions, the deadlines kept my mind sharp, and the photography assignments honed my eye for detail. I think everybody’s got a story to tell, even regular people who live in my community.

3. What is your typical writing schedule like?

Over the last 16 years, I’ve learned that maintaining a regular schedule helps to focus my mind. I can be a little flaky and ADD’ish if I don’t keep my day pretty regimented, in terms of producing content. Luckily, my Big Brother years in technology yielded formal project management training, so it’s not so secondhand to me now. Our son has to catch the bus at 6:40 am, so I use the hour after he leaves to read the news, catch up on Facebook, make updates and tweaks to my Web site, things like that. I go to the YMCA a couple days a week or take our beagle, Magnolia May, on a nice long walk, and try to be ready to concentrate by 9:30 or 10:00. Then I write. I’m a freelancer with Heroes & Heartbreakers, and I also write children’s books, so I typically have pretty good prompts or assignments to get me started. Because my corporate and media years were so deadline driven, I’m accustomed to high volumes of output in a given time. I get up for lunch, or for bio breaks, but I try to concentrate on my WIPs until my son gets home at 3:00. It’s working out pretty well so far.

4. Tell us about The Great Outdoors. Tallulah Murphy is a busy woman. As the newly appointed Director of Education for the Atlanta Art Museum, she has a thousand and one things to do on any given day. Dating is not high on that list; in fact, it’s not even on the radar.

Three hundred miles away in Charleston, South Carolina, Lieutenant Mitchell Weaver is gearing up for his promotion to be the youngest police chief in the city’s history. And unfortunately, as a prominent city official with all eyes watching his every move, a quality date seems untenable. But when good friends and good fortune set Tallulah and Mitch on a fateful adventure with Madame Evangeline’s high-end dating service, 1Night Stand, they may find a little matchmaking magic can reset their spirits of adventure and open their hearts and minds to the possibility of love.

5. What do you think readers will find appealing about Tallulah and Mitch? What makes them likable?That’s a really great question. I think both Tallulah and Mitch are interesting because they’re more than just an arts educator and police detective. They enjoy outdoor activities and spend time pursuing their hobbies, like hiking and kayaking. Plus, they’re both open (albeit a bit reluctantly at first) to the possibility of love—despite the fact they’ve both been burned before. I don’t like whiny characters who are so scared to open their hearts and minds to the hope of a little happiness that they spend chapters internalizing and anguishing over their past bad luck. Love is challenging, and you’ve got to be brave to step out on faith and give it a chance. You’ve also got to be brave to invite someone into your life. Both Tallulah and Mitch have that bravery, and I find that to be so compelling.

6. What was your favorite scene from The Great Outdoors? It’s a silly one, but a situation that can happen to anyone. As Tallulah and Mitch are finishing their hike up to the mountain inn where they’ll spend their one night, Tallulah makes a mad dash to the lobby for the bathroom. They’ve been really huffing it on the trail, lost in conversation and the excitement of their date that it never occurred to her to, you know, hurry. But I like that by the time they reach their destination, they’ve developed enough camaraderie that he can tease her. Their shared ability to laugh over a potentially embarrassing situation eases both of their minds, and pushes them over that final hump from being tentative with one another to really exploring their time together. Nothing breaks the dreamy ice better than a little reality.

7. What do you like to do when you aren’t writing? Oh, man, lots of things. One of the reasons I love to write is because I like to do and try so many things. We love day excursions that allow us to hike and kayak, and explore the interesting small towns around us. When we’re in town, we try to reduce our carbon footprint by parking the cars and riding our bikes around town. My soul mate got a new bike trailer last month with reinforced steel on the bottom, so we take it out with us for trips to the grocery store and other errands. Our son is 14, and he started riding around town (and on the road) with us when he was 9, so it’s second nature to him now. We try to ride to our soccer games as a warm-up (our son plays, and me and the mister are on an adult co-ed team), and we love to ride to the movie theatre or library. We love to travel, too. We spent my son’s last track-out (he’s in year-round school) in Arizona at the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff, and Phoenix. Our favorite hike: Broken Arrow Canyon. Our most startling moment: high up on the limestone rockface at the juncture of Boynton Canyon, above the treetops … when we heard the piercing howl of a coyote. In that situation I just figure that I need to run faster than our son. I told him, “I can make another one … so you better run faster than your daddy.”

· I don’t do dairy or white foods. So I’m the weird customer who orders pizza with no cheese, BLTs with no mayonnaise, chicken Caesar salad with no cheese or Caesar.

· I’m afraid of the dark. Thanks to Poltergeist, I take a running leap from the middle of the room onto the bed each night; and Salem’s Lot I don’t look out open windows either. If my husband is traveling, I sleep with the bathroom light on, and if both my son and husband are gone I go to my mom’s.

9. What’s next for you? I’m working on the second book in my children’s series about Peggy Noodle, and I’m working on finishing up two romantic suspense novels. Thanks for having me!

What’s your favorite kind of adventure—whether you read it, watch it … or experience it?Leave a comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon Gift Card!

About the author: Becky Moore is tall and buxom, highly educated and culturally savvy…well, three outta four ain’t bad.

She’s a world traveler, problem solver, and crusader. Thankful for the love of reading she inherited from her mom, mother to a superbly cool kid, wife to the world’s most handsome man. A mental-marathon runner, freelance photographer, faithful companion to Magnolia May the beagle, and a prolific reader and writer.

She’s an active member of her local Romance Writers of America chapter, the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.

In her down time, and in the real world, Becky loves to spend time with her husband and son. They live in the urban wilds of central North Carolina. Becky is an avid gardener, biker, kayaker, bicyclist, knitter, and community volunteer. She spent over a dozen years working as a writer, graphic artist, photographer and PR whiz in the pharmaceutical advertising, hi-tech, performing arts, and HIV/AIDS (grantwriting) fields before venturing into her current status of full-time author. And like her favorite characters, when you close her books, Becky will be just be a fond memory.

Jessica - I'm an avid gardener, but I can't hack the spiders. When I have nightmares, it's typically about spiders. Double-eek!

Heather - he went from the latest starting elementary school in the county to the earliest middle school three years ago. I was still working in theatre, with LATE nights, so I didn't know that there was something called 6:40 "AM".